Ion beam analysis of PECVD silicon oxide thin films

A study of ion beam analysis techniques of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) silicon oxide thin films (1 μm thick) obtained from silane (SiH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) is reported. The film, elemental composition and surface morphology were determined as function of the reactant gas flow ratio, R = [N2O]/[SiH4] in the 22–110 range using the Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, nuclear reaction analysis and atomic force microscopy techniques. The density of the films was determined by combining the RBS and thickness measurements. All the experiments were done at a deposition temperature of 300 °C. In all the cases almost stoichiometric oxides were obtained being the impurity content function of R. It was also observed that physical properties such as density, surface roughness and shape factor increase with R in the studied interval.